TCG Titans
by GlitchWarrior
Summary: Slade has returned, and vowed to enact ultimate destruction on the Teen Titans. Trapped in a new world, these heroes must... play the Pokémon Trading Card Game in order to survive. Thank Arceus that Beast Boy is an expert on the game! [Only slightly a crack fic. Slight Robfire and BBerra.]
1. Champions Approaching

**BOOM. I am ALIVE. I'm sorry for lack of updates on many of my other stories. But once again, I had a stupid idea that I had to get out of my system.**

**So the stupidity is as follows- I play a few games of Pokémon TCG. I realize there isn't really a Yu-Gi-Oh style anime in that regard. I figure it probably wouldn't work anyway... but hell if I'm not going to try. The next day, I visit my best friend, who's recently acquired a _Teen Titans _full DVD set. The rest is history.**

**NOTE: The events of this fic take place in between the fourth and fifth seasons of _Teen Titans._ Following the animated continuity of course, and not the comics or... ugh... the reboot. It will be written in a Yu-Gi-Oh like style, and this time I'll be writing down the stats of each card as they appear.****And that's another thing- the cards present are a bit unique. I'm going to use a buffed Pokémon Base Set for the starting decks- think XY Evolutions but on every card. Trainer Cards will be re-written as such, with Energy Retrieval no longer requiring a discard and Bill drawing 3 but acting as a Supporter. And Poison Pokémon are treated as Grass, not Psychic.**

**Later trainers will be using [slightly] buffed cards from each successive set, like Pokémon Jungle, Fossil Series and Team Rocket. This makes it feel at home to a modern Pokémon player, while providing a twinge of familiarity for the older players. And, of course, this means I only need to come up with 151 Pokémon evolution lines.**

**That was the technical stuff.****Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to introduce you to my latest project:**

**TCG Titans**

**Chapter I: Champions Approaching**

**xXx**

"**Arise**."

Robin stirred on the floor, getting up. This was... unusual. Why was he lying down in a cave? He hadn't fallen asleep inside of it. And what was that odd, feminine voice? He'd never heard it before.

"**You have awakened**." the voice said. "**Excellent**."

"Okay, lady, I want answers," he growled. "What did you bring me here for?"

"**You will understand, in due time**," the mystical being said. "**You are a legendary hero, destined to rid our world of your evil**."

"Your world? My evil?" Robin was confused. "What?"

"**The six legendary elementals have all but lost their former Champions. In the past, they defended our world from a great evil. Now... the lizard of fire calls out to you**!"

"Lizard of fire?" he questioned. "What, is it some kind of dragon or-"

"**NO**!" the voice shouted. "**It is no dr- agh, forget it**."

"So... back up," muttered Robin. "If I'm some sort of legendary champion, and I'm supposed to command this beast... Where is it?"

"**On the ground in front of you**."

He looked to see a small red slip on the floor. He bent down to examine it, seeing a painting of an ancient winged lizard on it.

"So... this is it? This is the dragon I'm supposed to champion...? It's a trading card."

"**First of all... What did I say about calling it a dragon? And second, yes, it's a trading card. In this world, such cards hold the key to unleashing one's true power**."

"A world where everything is a card game..." he said, sighing. "Almost sounds like Mad Mod's paradise. Fine, I'll play by your rules. But if for a SECOND me playing this game will hurt my friends-"

"**It shall not**," the voice replied. "**Though your friends may end up in their own perils, your battles shall not affect their own well-being. However, they will be fighting their own battles while you champion the Flame**."

He thought, long and hard. There were only two explanations for this, after all. The first was that the other Titans were not in this world. But if he was here, and one or more of his past foes would come here too, they could come as well. The other possible explanation rang in his mind-

"At least a couple of them... They're Champions as well, aren't they?"

"**You are correct**," the voice responded. "**At this time, you are the second of the Champions to arise- the Champion of flames. The Champion of the Mind has already recieved her mystic beast, and will meet you outside the chamber. She was the, er... quiet one**."

"Raven, huh?" muttered the newly crowned Champion of the Flame. "Not sure how she feels about this... Probably doesn't like it one bit."

"**No, she does not**."

Robin swept the card off of the floor. He held it tightly, and from the one card a full deck began to construct in his hand, made mostly of burning firebreathers and sketches of fire. However, the occasional caricature of a human or an object was added from time to time.

"Whoa."

"It's really not that shocking," said a quiet, snarky voice. "I could do so much better... if I cared."

Robin looked up, finding himself in a different room than when he had begun. He was now in a cavern hall, with nothing but a couple of paths and an emo girl in sight.

"I think whoever's behind this needed help," Robin deduced. "But why call us here? And why give us these weird cards? All she said was that I was one of six great heroes, you were another-"

"She gave me a deeper info dump," Raven interjected. "Apart from the Flame and the Mind, there were four other Champions- the Sea, the Thunder, the Strength, and the Nature... It seems these six elements govern everything in this world. I've even been locked out of my powers since arriving."

"Really?" questioned the chief Titan. For once, he was glad not to rely on super powers. "We need to find the others. Who knows, maybe more people than just us will be Champions... I can see Cyborg making a great Champion of Thunder."

"I wouldn't be too eager," Raven pointed out. "We'll probably go through a huge chunk of our 'rogue's gallery' on this quest. Slade's probably going to round it all off from beyond the grave, or my father will find some way to combat us, or-"

"What are you getting at?"

The spawn of Trigon shook her head. "If we're going to win, we need to find someone who can teach us how to use these things. I've never been one for card games in general, and you never had time."

Robin scratched his chin. "Well... I do have one idea, but it coincides with my plan to find the others in the first place. What if Beast Boy played a card game just like this in our world? It's not crazy to think about- in fact, it lines up perfectly."

"Yeah," Raven added. "I remember when he got those Pokémon cards. Don't these look similar?"

"Grass, fire, water, lightning, fighting, psychic... They're the six elements of the Champions!" gasped Robin.

"So we're inside a card game based on a video game," groaned the Champion of the Mind. "Oh, joy. I'm shuddering with excitement."

xXx

Meanwhile, somewhere in the dark wastes of whatever odd planet the Titans had been teleported to, a bronze-armored figure stood before a cloaked man. The knight bent down and knelt before his master.

"My lord, the champions are recieving the divine beasts, and... your apprentice is among them."

"_I see_," the cloaked man spoke, his voice coming out in a low baritone. "_I must test how strong they are in this world, and see what aspects I must... capitalize upon." _He turned to face his minion, his left eye peering out from under his hood while his right seemed to be absent."_Sir Gaia, I leave this task to you. Do not disappoint me_."

Sir Gaia nodded. "As you command... Lord Slade."

xXx

**Well, after that, I figure I should list out what I'm doing. The main characters all possess their usual cards, but they'll each have an "ace" with an Ability. Later, additional Ability Pokémon will (usually) not get this treatment, though I feel if I end up with a character playing a Dragonite, it'll have to be Slade. [He's probably going to use the "Dark" Pokémon from the Team Rocket set, actually.**

**As a reminder, I'll post each character's deck down here as they're introduced.**

**_ROBIN_**

**_Champion of the Flame deck [Fire]_**

**_Signature Pokémon: Charizard_**

**_RAVEN_**

**_Champion of the Mind deck [Psychic]_**

_**Signature Pokémon: **Alakazam_

**As of yet, the Champions of the Nature [Grass, ace Venusaur, the Sea [Water, ace Blastoise, Thunder [Lightning, ace Electrode, and Strength [Fighting, ace Machamp] have yet to be revealed**.


	2. Village of the Strength

**Chapter 2 is here. As a side note, three in-universe days passed in between this chapter and the last. Also... enter the next important character. Hooray!**

**Chapter II: Village of the Strength**

xXx

The two Titans- fully prepared for the journey ahead- walked a long, sketchy road. Said road was thin, thinner than Beast Boy turned into a slim serpent. To be blunt, Raven would hardly have called it a road if she'd not seen the signs, or the grass that had been padded down by cart after cart.

"I feel like we've been walking forever," she groaned. "How long until we reach our first stop?"

"Not too far now," Robin said. "I see smoke in the distance... Maybe we can make it faster if we run."

"For what it's worth," the demoness commented, "I'd rather not lose both my powers _and_ my legs. We ran for the first two days; walking is just fine."

The Boy Wonder nodded silently. Running was out of the question. Just seeing smoke didn't mean the village would be there within the next few hours. They'd probably only arrive at nightfall.

"Then we'll just have to hope we can make it," he acknowledged. "I hope we find someone who can teach us how these cards work... I'll bet if there's anyone who can teach us, Beast Boy is our best bet. I hope he's there."

"We're placing all of our hopes on a guy who spends his days goofing off and pranking us by turning into pests," Raven thought aloud. I can hardly believe our _brilliant_ luck."

xXx

At the village in question, people walked up and down the street. Buying and selling goods, comparing card prices on the local market... It seemed like a perfectly normal town.

But one of the residents of this town was silent as she walked each step through. Shining blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, destructive guilt... All of these combined made one incredibly silent, thoughtfully package.

But hey, such a life was totally normal for Terra Markov.

She'd woken up in the Village of the Strength, having been taken in by the village elders. They refused to hear a word of anything she said, anything she muttered of treachery.

Treachery. That word had burned itself into Terra's mind, breaking her mentally. She had turned on _him_. She had turned on all of them. She deserved to die for what she had done.

Yet here she was. _Alive_.

She rounded the corner, coming to face the house she'd been living in these past few days. It wasn't really much- a simple, single-story home. Honestly, it was more of an apartment than a house. But she didn't mind. She felt like this was a nice place to live, for a time.

"Terra," one of the boys from the market said, carrying a fruit basket. "Do you need anything? You only need to ask-"

"I'm fine," she told the boy. Everyone from the village had pitched together in nursing Terra back to health, and she'd thought she'd be able to start over. She thought that, as far from Jump City as she could be, she could have a new life. No one would ever know.

"Look," the boy asked, "I know nobody else has pried in, but I want to know. What was your life like before entering the Village of the Strength?"

Okay. Maybe one person could know.

"Fine, but you have to promise to say nothing about it." Once the boy nodded in agreement, she continued. "I used to be a lot stronger. The earth itself was my weapon, but... I couldn't control it. I eventually found a teacher... but that teacer was a really bad dude. I ended up hurting my friends, my people, myself... And most of all, I broke the trust of the one guy I cared about most."

The boy's lip quivered. "So I ran away," she continued. "I couldn't live with the guilt. I tried to give myself up so they could win, beat my sick, twisted teacher at his own game. Next thing you know... here I am."

"That's awful," the boy said. "But don't feel too bad. I'm sure they forgive you for what you did."

"I don't know," Terra replied. "I broke their trust pretty hard. After we all got to know each other so well, all of it went down the drain..."

"But the past is past," the boy said. "Terra, if you don't talk to those old friends of yours, you're just gonna feel more guilty."

"I guess you're right," she said, standing up. "Thanks, kid."

"Donovan," the boy added. "And, uh... You're welcome. Pinky swear I won't say anything!"

Terra laughed. "I guess so. See you soon, Donny- you don't mind if I call you that, do you?"

Donovan shrugged. "Whatever works for you! Bye." He walked away, almost forgetting the basket of fruit but remembering it at the last second.

She chuckled as he walked away. She'd seen Donny in town once or twice, but this had been their first real conversation. It reminded her of her discussions with the Titans.

That one thought soon gave way to another, though. Instantly her mind was again filled with thoughts of her failure to handle her geokinesis. Her offer for help from Slade. Her deception and lies. Her ultimate betrayal of everyone she ever loved.

"I just wanted to be normal," she mumbled. "Now that I actually _am_... I wish I could've told them how sorry I was even more."

xXx

She'd been assigned to that night's watch. Not because the town randomly picked someone to sit above the gate and check for visitors, but because she chose to do it tonight. It was a boring job, yes, but the least she could do for the people that had taken her in.

"The past is behind me," she said to herself. "It can't hurt me anymore."

Unfortunately for Terra, her past wasn't quite behind her yet.

She opened her closet, trying to find the ideal attire. Honestly, she normally couldn't care less about what she was wearing, but considering the recent increase in bandit attacks, she had to be on guard. If only she had something to-

Her hand brushed over her Apprentice's Armor. Slade had given her this suit while sje worked for him. She'd hoped to never wear it again, but if she really didn't need to worry, there was no harm in putting it on.

As she walked out toward the town gate, the steely blue of her suit shone in the moonlight. It took all she could muster to not sigh in frustration. It was all over, wasn't it?

As soon as she reached the top of the watchtower, she knew that it wasn't.

xXx

The Champion of the Mind grinned, for the first time in the last three days, as she and Robin looked up at the village ahead of them. This was certainly something. Her feet had ached all day, and now they'd reached a nice rest stop.

"Raven," Robin said, "I know we've been walking for three days, so... What if we spent some time in the city? At least tomorrow, maybe longer..."

"That would be... Good." Raven tried to think of a better word than "good" to use, but she was so tired her mind didn't want to think.

The two Champions walked to the gate, and Raven raised her hand to knock, before Robin stopped her.

"Hold on," he told her. "I think someone's watching us."

She nodded, looking at the watchtower above the gate. A sliver of blue was seen at the top. She shrugged and turned to Robin. "Binoculars."

"Sorry," Robin grumbled, "my gear is gone too. Whatever this weird world is, it doesn't want us using our abilities or gadgets as the Teen Titans."

He looked up at the watchtower, solemnly. "You up there... We're tired travellers, and we need a place to rest."

The figure at the tower seemed to understand. However, they threw down a note, which Raven caught, opening it.

"'Prove you're not bandits,'" she read. "Man, this place has a huge bandit problem."

"I am wearing a mask, so..."

"Fine," she told the watcher. "I don't know if you'll believe us, but we're two of the Champions. Do these help?"

She drew her rare card, as Robin drew his. The watchperson threw down another note, which Raven threw her hand towards.

"I wonder why he's not talking," said Robin.

"Or she, could be either." Raven said, studying this second note. "It says, 'I'm coming down to let you in. Don't panic when you see me.' What does that m- wait... I recognize _this_ handwriting."

The gate began to open up, and the two Titans looked into the city, seeing a young girl in front of them. A young girl whom they'd met before. Robin grimaced as the girl stepped forward.

"Sorry about the notes," Terra said. "I was worried you'd kill me if I talked to you outright."

xXx

**I had to reintroduce Terra to the other two in a pretty roundabout way. Hope you guys don't mind that.**

**In case it wasn't painfully obvious, there are six villages in this land; one of each element. The villages of the Flame and the Mind are going to crop up later, as will each of the other three.**

**And no. There's not a Colorless Village.**


	3. A Two-Pronged Reunion

**Round 3, so fast? I guess I just wanted to get right to it. I'll silently log each card as it appears so we don't have problems.**

**Also, angsty Robin.**

**Chapter 3**

**A Two-Pronged Reunion**

**xXx**

"Terra."

"Robin."

The two exchanged glances, both seeming a little on edge. However, Terra could tell Robin had it in for her. She was still wearing the neurosuit, disengaged as it was. And the last time the two had seen each other-

"Why did you come here?" he asked. "Run out of people to betray?"

"I'm over that," replied Terra. "It's been years since then! Why can't we just live and let live?"

"You almost killed us all."

The guilt of it all washed over Terra again. She hadn't wanted to confront Robin over this first. If she'd at least had a chance to speak with Raven, the sorceress could've at least put in a good word for her when she finally faced down Dick Grayson.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't realize how awful Slade's training would make me. I just wanted to control myself... Look where that got me. Turned to stone for a couple years, and then waking up powerless in a random village. Do you know what that does to someone?"

"I can take a lot of things, Terra," Robin growled. "Betrayal isn't one of those things. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave me alone during our stay here, and Raven too."

Raven opened her mouth to speak, but the Boy Wonder raised a hand, and she silenced. "And if for a _second_ you spot any one of the remaining Teen Titans," he continued, "you won't talk to them. You caused so much pain for all of us... Who's to say it won't happen again?"

"I just want to help," Terra tried to explain. Emphasis on tried.

"Help? I'll believe that when I see it." Robin began to walk into the village. "Do you know what it feels like to have a close friend turn on you?"

"Yeah, I do. Five times as much."

Something about that last sentence got to him. Robin turned back to face Terra, a cold look in his eyes.

"I refuse to talk to you any longer. Goodbyen Terra. I hope you find another dunce to betray."

He turned back, obviously wanting to get the night over. Raven, however, merely shrugged and reached her hand out to meet Slade's former apprentice.

"Robin doesn't trust you," she said, "and part of me doesn't want to, either. But I think you're a lot less psychotic than when we fought during Slade's finale."

Terra smiled, and took Raven's hand in a good old fashioned handshake. "So... we cool?"

"Don't push it."

**xXx**

The Snorlax Inn was certainly an odd name. However, Robin didn't care much for names. It was what was actually there that mattered, and the inn had more than enough to take care of both him and Raven, as well as provide them with much-wanted food and restroom service. The rations the Titans packed for their longer trips got _really_ old really fast if your name wasn't Cyborg.

"I still think you're overreacting," Raven said. "She seems fine to me."

"I don't want to talk about it," he growled. "She thinks she can just betray all of us, turn to stone for a couple of years, then randomly pop up, in a village in another world, wearing that stupid Slade-suit... And she still asks if we can be _friends_ again?"

"I don't do 'friends' much," Raven pointed out. "So if I trust her, that's saying something."

"Terra is _done_," he shouted back. "She lied, left, and then tried to fix things. No one can just go back after that."

The owner of the inn shushed Robin, as the servants gave him and Raven their room keys. They then proceeded to ask him to "keep it to a calm rant" and such.

He didn't want to talk about it. So he didn't.

"I'll see you in the morning," he told Raven. "We have to get an early start tomorrow if we want to track down Beast Boy."

"You go ahead and do that," she said, as Robin stormed off to his room. "I'm going to go ask around town for a different teacher."

He paused. "Don't lie to me, Raven. I know what you're actually going to do, and I won't let you."

"Who's going to stop me from talking to the watchwoman?" Raven pointed out. "You? You just said that you're going to bed early."

Grayson growled in defeat. He hated to admit it, but he was too tired to give chase. "Be back before sunrise. You need to rest too. And don't let her get to you. She's not our friend. Not anymore."

**xXx**

"She may not be _your_ friend," Raven thought aloud as she walked toward the watchtower. "But she's still _mine_."

She knocked a few times on the door before Terra answered.

"Mind if I drop in for a few hours?" Raven asked.

The two girls proceeded to spend the night with Raven recapping the events of the past four years to Terra- from Brother Blood's mind control scheme to her basically screwing destiny and defeating her own father. All the while, Terra gasped in awe, occasionally asking questions about each scenario.

After the recap, she proceeded to let her old new friend know how the rest of the team had fared. Robin had obviously become more mistrusting, warding off too many allies.

Cyborg? He'd barely changed, but the experience with Brother Blood had certainly given him a worthy nemesis while it had lasted.

As for Starfire, she had mentioned multiple times "a desire to rekindle the friendships with those whom have taken the wrong side, yet still so deeply are doing the caring about us." That bit made both of them laugh, hearing the sentence from Raven's mouth sounding so awkward.

"And Beast Boy?" she finished. "He's been acting totally normal. He still seems like the same old BB we've grown to love. But..." Raven lowered her head. "I think it was all just an act. Losing you must've broken something inside of him. It took four years for you to come back, and he doesn't even know you're still alive."

"Well, if we find him," Terra replied, "I guess he'll finally be back to his old self?"

"It's not that simple," the Champion of the Mind added. "Robin still hates your guts. He'd never let you come with us unless it was absolutely necessary."

"What are you two doing, anyway?" asked Terra. "It's not like you guys to be seperated from the rest of the group."

"Didn't I tell you at the gate?" Raven reminded her. "We're two of the Chosen Champions. Our job has become to defeat whatever evil comes at this land, but we don't even know how to use the cards we've been given."

"Maybe I could help with that," replied Terra, unboxing something in the watchtower. "I brought a two-player starter set in here, for if I get bored. Didn't think I'd actually have a visitor to play with... I guess it's coming in handy after all."

Raven looked at the pair of half-decks, eying both. "Each of them," the ex-Titan explained, "has a different focus. This one is Fire, this one is Fighting. So," finished Terra, "which one do you want?"

Raven sighed. She _had_ told Robin she was looking for a battle teacher- she guessed now, she could safely say shecd achieved this mission. "I'll pick fire. Not like I have much better to pick."

"Great," Terra said, looking up at Raven. "I have a bit of experience with Fighting-type cards myself. Some of them are actually earth-based attackers rather than martial artists, so the type suits me perfectly."

Raven paused upon hearing this. If Terra truly specialized in these Fighting cards, then why didn't she bring a full deck of them? Furthermore... Could it be possible that Terra was in fact the Champion of the Strength? Robin would flip if that were true... and not in a good way.

"All right," Terra said, laying out a game mat. "Your deck goes here, and I'll explain the rest as we go." She put a coin on the table, and dumped out a pile of small, numbered cardboard chips. "Heads or tails?"

Raven stared at everything on the table- the mat, the cards, the coin, the chips- and looked back up at Terra.

"Please tell me I won't have to set this up every time I play."

**xXx**

**Believe it or not, the original Starter Set actually had a Machamp included as a bonus. However, since Machamp is the Champion of the Strength's ace card, it will not be included in Terra's starter deck. This does NOT mean that she's a card short, though- said set actually came with 61 cards rather than 60. _The more you know..._**


	4. Terrable

**The first part of this chapter is relatively boring, as Terra introduces Raven to the game. The rest is pretty good though.**

**Chapter IV**

**Terrable**

**xXx**

Terra flipped the coin. "Huh, tails. You called it. Want to go first or second?"

Raven couldn't decide what she meant. "Are there... advantages to going second?"

"The furst-turn player can't attack," Terra explained. "It gives the second-turn player the first strike, but going first means you can prepare your team sooner."

"Okay," Raven decided, "first play it is. Now do we draw, what, five cards?"

"Seven."

The pair quickly drew their hands. Terra then proceeded to ask Raven if she had any Basic Pokémon in her hand. Of course, Raven had no idea what that meant.

"Well, let me explain. You can put Pokémon straight into play during the set-up phase or during your turn, but only if they're Basic. You can tell which ones are Basic by the Stage Mark in the upper-left corner of the card."

"Okay... What about this Stage 1? What does that mean?"

"Stage 1 and Stage 2 cards are Evolution cards. During any turn, except the turn a Pokémon comes into play, you can evolve a Pokémon to a more powerful form. Which Pokémon the Stage 1 or 2 card evolves from is listed under the Stage Mark. Just remember that evolved Pokémon usually need more energy to attack."

Raven shook her head. "I don't quite get it yet. Energy? Stage?"

"I guess actions speak louder than words," replied Terra. "Just pick a Basic Pokémon and play it in the marked 'active zone' face-down. Then, we play any more we'd like on our Bench, right here."

Raven nodded. As she set a card face-down active, and one more on her bench, she thought about what all of this actually meant. "Terra," she asked, "what if one of us _didn't_ start with a Basic Pokémon?"

"Then that player would return their hand to the deck and draw a new one," she explained, putting up an active Pokémon of her own. "But for each mulligan more than your opponent you make, they can draw an extra card at the end of set-up."

"So... Make a deck with plenty of Basics so the opponent doesn't draw their whole deck before the game starts. Anything else?"

"One more step before we start," Terra added. "We each take cards from the top of our deck, face down, and lay them over here as prizes for defeating enemy Pokémon. The first player to take all of their Prizes or defeat all of their opponent's Pokémon wins." She paused. "Since we're using half-decks, three prizes instead of the usual six would be best. We'll each have twenty cards left in our decks for the start of the game."

Raven and Terra laid out three Prizes each as such. "And now we can play?"

"Oh yeah," her opponent said. "Flip over your team so I can see 'em."

Raven revealed the two Pokémon she'd begun with- Growlithe in the lead, Charmander benched. Terra's lone Pokémon was a Rattata, but she seemed more than fine with it.

"So... How do we actually play?"

"We're going to be here a while..."

xXx

Robin paced back and forth in the inn's dining room. He had, in fact, planned to go to bed early as he'd said, but Raven was out there, alone with the traitor. He couldn't stand to have one of his closest friends in danger.

"Somethin' on your mind?" the waiter asked.

Robin shook his head. "I can't shake this feeling that something bad will happen soon. Did you know your town's watchgirl once tried to kill me?"

The waiter seemed puzzled. "I beg your pardon, sir. Terra's the nicest girl any o' us ever met. I doubt she has it in her to try an' kill somebody."

"That's what she wants you to think."

"I guess you may be a bit paranoid," said the waiter. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I have customers waiting for their salad."

Robin backed up, letting the waiter go by. He shouldn't have shared his thoughts on Terra to a man whom he'd barely met. But he figured somebody else needed to know the truth. He sat down in the booth behind him

"I believe you."

Robin turned around, seeing a kid, no more than ten, in one of the booths. The boy had a quiet demeanor.

"She told me not to tell anyone this, but she mentioned that she once hurt all of her best friends. You're one of those friends... I can tell. Maybe you should forgive her for what she's done."

"I'm not accepting any apologies from a deceitful snake like her. To her, we were never her friends."

The boy grimaced. "Maybe she's not the one who needs to apologize after all."

At that sentence, something must have broken in Robin's mind. "What do you mean by that? I'm not the one who lied to my team for a few weeks before betraying them to Slade 'Deathstroke' Wilson. I'm not the one who toyed with their friend's hearts!"

"You act like people can't change," the boy muttered. "Think about how she felt when she betrayed you."

"She felt _NOTHING_!" Robin angrily shouted, pounding his fist into his table. "She just wanted to get to us so she could ruin our lives!"

"I talked to her," the boy said. "She wouldn't stop going on about how sorry she was."

Robin couldn't believe what he was hearing. A young boy trusted Terra, of all people- after hearing her full story, no less! He was almost ready to smack the kid silly when he reminded himself that he was speaking with someone much younger than he was.

"She was Slade's apprentice," he said. "His _WILLING_ apprentice. I can't trust someone who could give their loyalty to a man like him, in exchange for control of her powers."

The boy crossed his arms. "You wouldn't know guilt if it hit you across the back of your head."

Silence for a few moments. Neither the teen nor the child spoke for the next ten seconds.

"It's your call," the boy finally said, standing up from his own table. "But she'd kinda like it if you let her go for what she did."

xXx

"And now I attach Fighting Energy to Machoke and attack for game," Terra finished. "I use Submission to KO Charmeleon."

Raven nodded as Terra scooped up her last prize. She herself shrugged, handing the thirty cards she'd used back to the Traitor Titan.

"I still think this game sucks," she added, "but I guess having some customization would certainly help."

"I have an idea," Terra thought aloud. "What if we went to the market downtown? We could get you a couple of cards to make your life easier. I can't believe the ancients gave you a deck in that condition."

"Which means...?"

Terra grabbed Raven's deck and fished through it, sighing. This deck was _definitely_ not fit for the Champion of the Mind. "First, we need to do something about these two unevolving Gastly."

xXx

The next morning, Robin knocked on the door to the watchtower. He'd mulled it over all of last night. And now, he was finally ready to apologize.

Did he trust Terra? No. But it was the only way.

He knocked again. Still no response. The door seemed unlocked, too.

He opened it, and saw both girls asleep at a table. Raven's deck was sprawled across it, divided into a couple of piles. Pieces of paper marked the piles into three categories- "keep," "buff," and "trade." It was clear what each set of cards was meant for.

He quietly bent over and shook Raven awake.

"Nngh... Robin, what are you doing over here...?"

"You never came back to the inn," he said. "I wanted you to come back quickly as to not get brainwashed. But after a little chat with one of the citizens..." He paused, looking at the still-snoring Terra. "I think I might have been wrong. About Terra, I mean."

"So sweet," Raven snarked, her monotone evident. "Boy hates girl, boy hears about girl, boy apologizes to girl."

"I still don't fully trust her," he replied. "But seeing you, her, and all of the cards just now, I think she might be helpful. Plus, I still need to pay back Beast Boy for the toilet incident."

"You mean the one where he- _willingly_\- turned into an eel and swam down the drain to unclog the toilet?"

"Can you imagine what things would've been like if he hadn't?" added Robin. "I mean... Even the master plumbers couldn't get that out. I didn't know Cyborg was capable of making such a huge-"

Terra yawned loudly, cutting Robin off. She was beginning to wake up now, and as she sat up, she rubbed her eyelids a bit, like many seem to upon waking up. Upon realizing the Champion of Flame was in the room, she started to sigh. "Guess that's that, then," she began, obviously disappointed that she couldn't help Raven with her little "who in the name of Trigon designed this deck" problem.

"Hold on, Terra," Robin started. "I have something to say..." He choked down the lump that was building in his throat. "I'm sorry. Sorry I accused you of still being our enemy. I may not appreciate what you did to us, but can we at least... _live and let live?_"

Terra smiled, reaching her hand to meet Robin's. But instead of a handshake, she faked him out and gave him a good old high-five.

"Apology accepted," she replied. "Now, about the deck-"

"I can tell what you were going to do," he said, and I want in too. If we're going to find the others and stop whatever villains of the week show up, we need proper weaponry."

"And you're joining us for card shopping because..." asked Raven.

Robin gave the two girls a nice wink. "My deck needs some serious help, too."

xXx

"Lord Slade," the mysterious samurai said, having returned to his master's side, "it is worse than we had feared. Two of the Teen Titans themselves are the Champions, and your apprentice seems to have disconnected all of her ties with us."

"As I expected," Slade said, calmly. "Her allegiance was never truly mine. Is the neural armor offline?"

"It has been such since she arrived in this world," spoke Sir Gaia. "I am certain that she may in fact be the third Champion."

The Terminator nodded silently. "Allow the lesser villains to challenge them. You and they shall be an adequate scouting method."

Sir Gaia nodded. "I shall make the preparations to release the cannon fodder, milord."

As the warrior walked away, Slade secretly grinned. The samurai was an expert on stealth and administration, but his combat was subpar compared to his foes. He fully intended for Gaia to die.

As for the other five idiots, they could die as well for all he cared. None of them were particularly good at their villainous ways, not compared to Slade. None of them would ever last more than an hour against the Teen Titans, never mind win. Even without any form of expertise with the game, four out of six of the Champions- if they were, indeed, all Titans- would be very difficult to defeat.

Terra and Beast Boy would be another can of worms entirely, but of course Slade had been monitoring their every move. Their playstyles, their strategies, even their absurd romance. It had almost hurt him to give Terra the order to fight her own boyfriend.

Almost.

He grinned, turning to face a screen mounted on his back wall. "This is my game, Teen Titans," he spoke. "And you are merely pawns, pawns that will not be able to cross the board in time to prevent Checkmate."

**xXx**

**Glad to have that taken care of. Soon, I'll start writing out full battles, so that's... something. Have a good day, folks, and don't let Slade _Mind Manipulate_ you.**


	5. Shooting Stars

**Hey! I know it seems like now is pretty late to write up a chapter.**

**So what?**

**Chapter 5: Shooting Stars**

* * *

After all of the madness that had ensued last night, the united half of the Teen Titans spent most of the day card shopping. It was inevitable that they would meed to step up their game. They just didn't realize that they'd have to prepare beforehand.

The Champion of the Flame was still getting over the fact that whatever world they had landed in still used U.S. currency. He looked toward his former adversary, who was trying to barter with the price of a card she said Raven should really have.

"I'm telling you," Terra argued to an obviously corrupt shopkeeper, "five bucks for one Haunter ism't going to cut it."

"Do you want it or not?"

She facepalmed. "Well," she groaned, "that one's out. Good thing we got Raven so many other options, 'cause if Haunter isn't at a REASONABLE price at the last shop-"

"Then the Gastly will be totally useless," finished Robin. "I wonder, though- that shop has so many customers right now. Do you think they're having a blowout sale?"

"Not sure," the blonde replied. "But that shop never had too many customers at once..."

One of those customers overheard the conversation, waltzing over to them. "Didn't ya hear?" he said giddily. "There's a new employee there. And ain't she a beaut!"

Robin's mind immediately thought of two things. The first was the possibility that perhaps it wasn't just a shopping rush. Perhaps it was just people meeting this new worker. However, the main thought his mind was processing was that perhaps this woman was someone he knew.

After all, it couldn't be a coincidence that the village him and Raven stayed at happened to be the one Terra had taken up residence in.

"Does she... speak in a funny way?" Robin asked.

"Now that ya mention it," the man said, "yeah, she did. She was slow on the words, amd a bit clunky with them."

His eyes widened. "Red hair? Green eyes?"

"If I didn't know any better," the man replied, "I'd say you've already seen her yourself."

This... Could NOT... Be a coincidence.

"Maybe we have," he told the man. "In any case, it's probably good to make sure."

"Uh, yeah," added Terra. "And maybe say hello if she IS who we're looking for?"

"I would get in line now," the man said. "Me and the other shoppers up ta this point have only been MILDLY thirsty. I reckon that shop's tryin' ta seduce people into buyin' their merch."

"Terra, you go get Raven," Robin quickly decided. "I have to get us a place in line."

* * *

"Aaaaand pose!" Reginald the shopkeeper told his new advertisement- sorry, I mean employee. "See? It looks great on you!"

"It looks rather... revealing," the girl said, apparently shocked. "Not to mention the chains... Are you sure you do not have a more... standard uniform?"

"Come on," argued Reggie. "You've been wearing that half the day already. And so far, we've had a massive spike in customers coming to see y- I mean, our stock. I think it's working pretty well."

"I fear I am attracting the wromg kind of attention."

"Nonsense," he replied. "You're getting just the kind we need. After all, profits are up. I- uh, WE- are making money!"

"So you are, in fact, going to pay me?" asked the girl. She was so... innocent. Pure. But she was also naive as all heck. She wasn't going to remember to ask WHEN her paycheck would roll in.

Reggie laughed to himself. "Of course I am," he lied. "You just need to stand there and look pretty. Soon enough, you'll be able to live off of your looks alone!"

The door to the shop shut, however, as he said such. Reggie looked up to see a young boy and two girls behind him walking toward the counter.

"I wouldn't judge a girl by their looks," the boy growled. "Especially if they're stronger than you think."

"Rob-"

"I'm trying to run a business here," the shopkeeper reasoned. "Besides, uh, Rob? Isn't she a masterpiece of a woman? See the figure! See the posture!"

"Rob" wasn't impressed. "Oh, I see them," he told Reggie. "And I also see the chains she's got on. What, scared she'll run away and ruin your profits?"

"Our profits," his maiden corrected, although she suddemly sounded less confident. "Reginald tells me that he intends to pay me. But I am having second thoughts, especially if I have to wear this." She gulped. "I believe my zartax is showing."

"Zar-what?" Reggie asked, confused.

"Never mind that," the cloaked girl said. "But what I want to know is- when DO you plan to pay her?"

The shopkeeper gulped. "Well, uh, she just started today, so, uh... Friday, I guess?"

"Let's take a cut out of that check," the blonde added. "Prove it's not slave labor- give her part of today's profits now. If she's getting paid anyway, it wouldn't hurt for her to get her first payment, even if it is in a smaller sum."

Reggie paused. "Well, um, you see..."

"You never DID intend to pay her, did you?" Rob asked, glaring Reggie in the eyes. "You're just using her as fanservice to drive up your sales." He took a look at some of the price tags on the merchandise. "And I can see why this place was such a low-profit joint before she showed up. These prices are higher than those of a joint across the street that ALREADY sells cards at astronomically high prices."

"Um-"

Before Reggie could react, Rob leapt on top of the counter, punching him in the face. "By the way," he finished, "we were recording that whole conversation."

"Before last night," the blonde added, "I didn't want to put this thing back on. Then I realized it has a built-in microphone."

"What are you gonna do to me?"

"Nothing," Rob muttered angrily. "I mean, freeing your star attraction is going to be the LEAST of your worries."

As the terrified card salesman gasped, seeing the hooded grl release his model from her restraints, he saw Rob smirking. "But the townspeople are going to have a different say in things. They'll see her, all right- along with seeing you for the fraud you really are."

As the women raced out, with Rob close behind, Reggie could only sigh in resignation.

"I really should've invested in a back door."

* * *

"Thank you for rescuing me from that horrible man," Starfire gleefully told Robin, hugging him. The team had reunited in Terra's home for the time being. "I would probably have fallen for his ruse forever had you not intervened."

"It was nothing," Robin replied. "As soon as I realized you might be in danger, I rushed in."

"I will be blunt," she said, " at first I thought I was dreaming. For one, you and Terra no longer seem to have any problems between the two of you." She cast a glance at the former apprentice of Slade. "Beast Boy will be most pleased."

"Definitely," Robin said. "And no, you're not dreaming. Yes, Raven and I really are two Chosen Ones meant to save the world or something."

"That is... a lot to take in," Star replied. "And you're going to save the world through... the playing of a game of cards?"

"It may sound weird," Robin replied. "But it's all true. And there are supposed to be six Champions, too. I think we need to find Cyborg and Beast Boy- if nothing else, they knew the game best. And best cade scenario- all of the Champions are Teen Titans. I'm willing to believe Raven and I are a coincidence, but if either you, Terra, or one of them is also a Champion... there's our proof."

"I believe you," the Tamaranian told him. "But before we leave, can we do one thing?"

"Anything."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked in Terra's mirror. "We need to obtain clothing for me that has far less exposure."

* * *

**I'm good now. More details on our favorite alien and her playstyle later. For now... I am needing of the sleep. Good night.**


End file.
